Shared decompression engine

ABSTRACT

A method for sharing a hardware decompression engine, including performing a compression type check on a first data stream to determine a compression type of the first data stream, wherein the first data stream is compressed using one selected from a group consisting of a first compression type and a second compression type; wherein, when the first data stream is compressed with the second compression type: receiving the second compression type at a selector; converting the first data stream compressed with the second compression type into a second data stream of the first compression type; inputting the converted second data stream into the selector; and decompressing the converted second data stream using the hardware decompression engine capable of decompressing a data stream compressed using the first compression type. In other aspects, a system for sharing a hardware decompression engine and a computing system are provided.

BACKGROUND

Files are stored by operating systems as compressed files or asuncompressed files. A compressed file characteristically requires lessstorage space than an uncompressed file. Compression of files istypically done with a compression algorithm, such as a GNU (Gnu NotUnix) ZIP (GZIP) compression algorithm or a Lempel Ziv Jeff Bonwick(LZJB) compression algorithm. These compression/decompression algorithmsare also referred to as simply GZIP or LZJB compression/decompressionalgorithms or as GZIP or LZJB compression/decompression types. Dependenton the operating system used, the user may be able to choose whether touse a compression algorithm, and if so, which compression algorithm isto be used. Further, the user may be able to choose the compressionalgorithm on a per file type basis. Compression/decompression of filescan be done in software or in hardware. In the former case, thecompression/decompression is also referred to as software-assistedcompression/decompression or simply as softwarecompression/decompression.

Software compression/decompression requires a relatively long amount oftime to complete and utilizes additional computing resources of theprocessor. In contrast, hardware compression/decompression is provided,for example, on the same die as the processor or as a separate add-oncard for a computing system. In both cases, the physical devices toperform hardware compression/decompression are also referred to ashardware compression/decompression engines or ascompression/decompression hardware accelerators. Hardwarecompression/decompression, when compared to softwarecompression/decompression, generally requires a smaller amount of timeto complete and requires less processor resources but at an additionalcost. For example, the processor die area on a silicon wafer is at apremium and adding one or more hardware compression/decompressionaccelerators to the processor die requires additional die area.Similarly, the add-on card with one or more hardwarecompression/decompression accelerators invokes an additional cost to thecomputing system. In that respect, it may be beneficial to explore howcompression/decompression requirements may be advantageously satisfiedwhile minimizing costs.

SUMMARY

In general, in one aspect, one or more embodiments disclosed hereinrelate to a method for sharing a hardware decompression engine,including performing a compression type check on a first data stream todetermine a compression type of the first data stream, wherein the firstdata stream is compressed using one selected from a group consisting ofa first compression type and a second compression type; wherein, whenthe first data stream is compressed with the second compression type:receiving the second compression type at a selector; converting thefirst data stream compressed with the second compression type into asecond data stream of the first compression type; inputting theconverted second data stream into the selector; and decompressing theconverted second data stream using the hardware decompression enginecapable of decompressing a data stream compressed using the firstcompression type.

In another aspect, one or more embodiments disclosed herein relate to asystem for sharing a hardware decompression engine, the system includinga selector configured to receive as an input, a selection of a first ora second compression type of a first data stream; a decoder, wherein,when the second compression type of the first data stream is received asthe input to the selector, the decoder is configured to receive anddecode a first data stream compressed with the second compression typeand to generate an indicator, a first information, and a secondinformation; a control byte generator, configured to receive theindicator and to generate a control information; a format circuitconfigured to format the control information, the first information, andthe second information into a second data stream of the firstcompression type; and a decompression circuit of the first compressiontype, wherein, when the second compression type of the first data streamis received as the input to the selector, the decompression circuit isconfigured to decompress the second data stream of the first compressiontype converted from the second compression type of the first datastream.

In yet another aspect, one or more embodiments disclosed herein relateto a computing system for decompressing a stream, the computing systemincluding a processor; a hardware decompression engine configured todecompress a data stream compressed using a first compression type,wherein the hardware decompression engine resides on the same die as theprocessor; a memory; a storage device; and software instructions storedin the memory for enabling the computer system under control of theprocessor, to: perform a compression type check on a first data streamto determine a compression type of the first data stream, wherein thefirst data stream is compressed using one selected from a groupconsisting of a first compression type and a second compression type;wherein, when the first data stream is compressed with the secondcompression type: convert the first data stream compressed with thesecond compression type into a second data stream using the firstcompression type; and decompress the converted second data stream usingthe hardware decompression engine capable of decompressing a data streamcompressed using the first compression type.

Other aspects of the disclosure will be apparent from the followingdescription and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of on-die compression and decompressionengines among other hardware accelerators in accordance with one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a system for a shared decompression engine in accordancewith one or more embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a method for sharing a single-type decompression engine inaccordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a computing system in accordance with one or moreembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specific embodiments will now be described with reference to theaccompanying figures. In the following detailed description, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a more thoroughunderstanding of the disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art that embodiments may be practiced withoutthese specific details. In other instances, well-known features have notbeen described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating thedescription.

Throughout the disclosure, certain specific terms will be used todescribe elements or functionality of one or more embodiments. However,other terms may be likewise used to describe the same elements orfunctionality of one or more embodiments. For example, the terms“hardware compression engine” and “hardware decompression engine” arealso referred to as “hardware compression accelerator” and “hardwaredecompression accelerator” or as “compression circuit” and“decompression circuit.” Similarly, the term compression/decompression“algorithm” is also referred to as compression/decompression “type” orcompression/decompression “format.” Further, the term “processor” isalso referred to as “Central Processing Unit (CPU)” or “GraphicsProcessing Unit (GPU)” or “CPU/GPU” or “Computing Unit” orSystem-on-a-Chip (SoC). In addition, the term “compressed file” and“decompressed file” are also referred to as “compressed data stream” or“decompressed data stream.” Further, the term single “die” is alsoreferred to as a single “chip.”

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure relate tocost-effective sharing of a hardware decompression engine. Suchcost-effectiveness may be achieved by determining the compression typeof a file to be decompressed. If the compression type of the file isalready of the same type as the hardware decompression engine, then thehardware decompression engine may be used directly. However, if thecompression type of the file is of a different type than the hardwaredecompression engine, then the file may need to be converted to the sametype which the decompression engine supports. Accordingly, the presentdisclosure relates to advantageously utilizing the same type of hardwaredecompression engine for files, even if the files are of differingcompression types.

Further, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a sharedhardware decompression engine which may be implemented as part of asystem-on-a-chip (SoC). SoC generally refers to an integrated circuitwhich is located on a single die (chip), e.g., a silicon die. The singledie may be obtained from dicing a semiconductor wafer, e.g., a siliconwafer, which has undergone wafer processing. The integrated circuit onthe single die may contain a variety of components and component groups,among them analog circuits, digital circuits, mixed signal circuits (acombination of analog and digital circuits), and others.

While in some embodiments, the shared hardware decompression engine maybe implemented as part of a SoC, in other embodiments, the sharedhardware decompression engine may be implemented as a part of asystem-in-a-package (SiP). A SiP generally refers to several dies(chips) which have been assembled into a single package. The severaldies may be stacked onto each other or may be adjacent to each other.Yet in other embodiments, the shared hardware decompression engine maybe implemented partly or fully in a field-programmable gate array(FPGA).

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the integratedcircuit may be a CPU, a GPU, or a combination thereof. The integratedcircuit may be used in desktops, laptops, notebooks, workstations,gaming consoles, and in other systems. In one or more embodiments, theintegrated circuit may be operatively connected with a motherboard.However, the present disclosure is not limited to these particularembodiments. Specifically, the present disclosure for the sharedhardware decompression engine is applicable to any system, which isconfigured with a hardware decompression engine of at least one type.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram 100 of on-die compression anddecompression engines among other hardware accelerators in accordancewith one or more embodiments. In FIG. 1, element 104 depicts a singleCPU/GPU die with four CPU cores 108, 112, 116, and 120, each of whichmay execute program instructions. The decision regarding whichparticular CPU core executes instructions by a particular program orapplication may be controlled by the operating system. The CPU cores108, 112, 116, and 120 are configured to have access to a shared cache124. The shared cache 124 may contain a portion of program data that hasbeen copied from the system memory (not shown). Therefore, the use ofcache may reduce the time needed for a CPU core to access program data.The shared cache 124 may be configured to be shared among the CPU cores108, 112, 116, and 120.

In FIG. 1, a GPU 132 is also located on the die to create and manipulatea frame buffer from which data may be sent to an output device, such asa display (not shown). Further, a memory controller 128 and a displaycontroller 136 are shown. The memory controller 128 allows the CPU coresto access system memory to retrieve or store program data. As shown inFIG. 1, in one or more embodiments, the memory controller may beresiding on the same die as the CPU/GPU die 104. In other embodiments,the memory controller 128 may be residing on a different die.

The display controller 136 in FIG. 1 may receive frame buffer data fromthe GPU and is configured to output the data into VGA (Video GraphicsArray), HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), DVI (Digital VisualInterface), or DP (Display Port) interfaces to be displayed on acorresponding display (not shown). However, one skilled in the art wouldappreciate that the display controller 136 may output data into otherdisplay interfaces.

The CPU/GPU die 104 in FIG. 1 may also contain hardware accelerators140, which support various video or audio encoders/decoders (codecs). Adecompression engine 144 and a compression engine 148 are located nearthe hardware accelerators 140. In one or more embodiments, thedecompression engine 144 is a shared LZJB decompression engine and thecompression engine 148 is an LZJB compression engine. In the sameembodiments, the shared LZJB decompression engine may be configured todecompress a file which has been previously compressed with an LZJBcompression algorithm. Further, in the same embodiments, the shared LZJBdecompression engine may also be configured to decompress a file whichhas been previously compressed with a GZIP compression algorithm andwhich has been converted into a compressed LZJB data stream.Accordingly, a shared LZJB hardware decompression engine may beconfigured to decompress an LZJB-compressed file or a GZIP-compressedfile in these embodiments.

One skilled in the art would appreciate that other embodiments mayutilize a shared hardware decompression algorithm of a different type.For example, the shared hardware decompression engine may be configuredto be of the GZIP, LZ77, LZJB, LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch), LZSS(Lempel-Ziv-Storer-Szymanski), LZMA (Lempel-Ziv-Markov), or of anothertype. Further, one skilled in the art would appreciate that the sharedhardware decompression engine may be configured to decompress a varietyof other compression types as long as the other compression types areconverted beforehand into the compression type which the shared hardwaredecompression engine is configured for.

Further, one skilled in the art would appreciate that the decompressionengine 144 and the compression engine 148 may also be located atdifferent locations on the CPU/GPU die 104 to opportunistically benefitfrom proximity to relevant signals or as a result of “floor planning” tominimize the required area of the CPU/GPU die 104. Further, one ofordinary skill in the art would appreciate and understand that thenumber of CPU cores or the size or capability of the GPU 132 may bechanged in FIG. 1. Accordingly, arrangements other than the one shown inFIG. 1 may be contemplated without departing from the scope of theinvention. In addition, elements not shown in FIG. 1 may be added to theCPU/GPU die 104 without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 for a shareddecompression engine. In the embodiment in FIG. 2, an LZJB-compresseddata stream 228 (a first data stream of a first compression type) and aGZIP-compressed data stream 224 (a first data stream of a secondcompression type) are shown. The LZJB-compressed data stream 228 in FIG.2 is input into a multiplexer (MUX) 216. The GZIP-compressed data stream224 is input to a Huffman decoder 204. The Huffman decoder 204 has aplurality of outputs, specifically, the entity indicator 232, theliteral byte 236 (first information), and the length-distance entity 240(second information). The entity indicator 232 is input to a controlbyte generator 208, which in turn, has an LZJB control byte 256 (controlinformation) as an output. One skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe number of entity indicator(s) 232, the number of LZJB controlbyte(s) 256, the number of literal byte(s) 236, and the number oflength-distance entity(ies) naturally depends on the size of the file tobe decompressed.

The LZJB control byte 256, the literal byte 236, and the length-distanceentity 240 are input to a functional LZJB format circuit 212 (a formatcircuit of a second compression type). The functional LZJB formatcircuit 212 may include memory to store incoming entities, e.g., literalbytes 236 and length-distance entities 240. The output of the functionalLZJB format circuit 212 is an LZJB-compressed data stream 244 (a seconddata stream of a first compression type) which is also input to the MUX216, described above. The MUX 216 has a decompression type selectioninput 248 and provides an output to an LZJB decompression circuit 220.One skilled in the art will appreciate that the MUX 216 may act as aninput selector based on the decompression type selection input 248.Specifically, dependent on whether the input value of the decompressiontype selector 248 is high or low, the MUX 216 outputs either theLZJB-compressed data stream 228 or the LZJB-compressed data stream 244to the LZJB decompression circuit 220. The LZJB decompression circuit220 has a decompressed data stream 252 as an output. Accordingly,dependent on the decompression type selector 248, the decompressed datastream 252 is derived from either the LZJB-compressed data stream 228 orthe LZJB-compressed data stream 244.

Embodiments of the system 200 for the shared decompression engine inFIG. 2 may be implemented on the processor die. Alternatively, thesystem 200 for the shared decompression engine may be implemented onanother die, which is separate from the processor die. In otherembodiments, the system 200 for the shared decompression engine in FIG.2 may be realized as a combination of hardware and software. Further,while the embodiment in FIG. 2 is shown with the Huffman decoder 204,one skilled in the art will appreciate that the Huffman decoder 204 isused specifically for the GZIP-compressed data stream 224.

However, the present disclosure is not limited to exploiting thecommonality of an LZJB decompression circuit 220 to decompress datastreams of the GZIP-compressed data stream 224 and the LZJB-compresseddata stream 228. Other commonalities of compression types may beexploited using the same decompression engine. Accordingly, one skilledin the art will appreciate that the shared decompression of othercompression types may require other decoders and/or other conversioncircuitry to convert one compression type into another compression typethat can be commonly decompressed by a shared decompression engine.Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to a shared LZJBdecompression engine and consequently, other embodiments may use ashared decompression engine of a different type.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart for a method 300 for sharing asingle-type decompression engine in accordance with one or moreembodiments. Specifically, the method for sharing a single-typedecompression engine starts at 304. At 308, a check is performed todetermine which compression type the file is compressed with. If thedetermination is made at 312 that the file is compressed with the LZJBalgorithm (a first compression type), the method continues to 316 atwhich “LZJB” is received as decompression type selection input at amultiplexer (MUX). Subsequently, the LZJB-compressed file is input intothe LZJB decompression engine at 318 and the LZJB-compressed file isdecompressed at 320 with the LZJB decompression engine. Once the filehas been decompressed at 320, the method ends at 324.

In one or more embodiments, the determination of the compression type ofthe file may be done by software. Specifically, an operating system of acomputing system may provide the user a plurality of choices regardingwhich compression type to use. In one or more embodiments, the operatingsystem may provide the choice between LZJB and GZIP compression. One ofthe LZJB and GZIP compression types may be selected as defaultcompression type by the operating system when the user has not selectedan alternate compression type. In other embodiments, the operatingsystem may provide choices according to other compression algorithms.Accordingly, the operating system is “aware” of the default compressiontype or the user selected compression type and may store thisinformation along with the file name and the file type, e.g., in a filetable.

In other embodiments, the determination of the compression type of thefile may be done by hardware. Specifically, different file types, e.g.,PDF files, GZIP-compressed files, etc., typically begin with a uniquesequence of bytes that identify the type of file that follows the uniquesequence of bytes. These bytes are also referred to as “magic number.”Accordingly, in one or more embodiments, hardware may identify the typeof a file by reading the first several bytes of the file. Subsequently,a comparator circuit may compare the read first several bytes to aninternal lookup table that maps different values of bytes (i.e., a listof known magic numbers) into their corresponding file format type. Byway of an example, GZIP files begin with bytes corresponding to thehexadecimal value 0x1F8B and any file beginning with this magic numbermay be classified as a GZIP-compressed file by the hardware. However,the determination of the compression type of the file is not limited tosoftware or hardware and combinations of software and hardware may beused without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

However, if the determination is made at 312 that the file is notcompressed with the LZJB algorithm, then the method proceeds to 328 atwhich “GZIP” (a second compression type) is received as decompressiontype selection input at the MUX. Subsequently, the GZIP-compressed datastream is input to a Huffman decoder at 332 and the GZIP-compressed datastream is decoded into entity indicators, literal bytes (a firstinformation), and length-distance entities (a second information) at336. The method then proceeds to 340 at which the entity indicators areinput to a control byte generator. At 344, LZJB control bytes aregenerated from the entity indicators and the literal bytes,length-distance entities, and LZJB control bytes are input into afunctional LZJB format circuit at 348. The method continues at 352 atwhich the literal bytes, length-distance entities, and LZJB controlbytes are formatted into an LZJB-compressed data stream. Specifically,when eight literal bytes or length-distance entities have been received,the functional LZJB format circuit outputs a single control bytefollowed by the eight entities in the same order they were received.Further, each bit of the control byte indicates whether thecorresponding entity is a literal entity or a length-distance entity. Inaddition, another control byte is output by the functional LZJB formatcircuit once eight more entities have been received, followed by theentities themselves. Accordingly, at 352, the control bytes and entitiesare output as LZJB-compressed data stream until the end of theGZIP-compressed data stream of the file is reached.

The portion of the flowchart in FIG. 3 represented by 332, 336, 340,344, 348, and 352 may also be referred to as conversion of theGZIP-compressed data stream into an LZJB-compressed data stream. After352, the method then proceeds to input the LZJB-compressed data streaminto the MUX at 356. Subsequently, the LZJB-compressed data stream isdecompressed with the LZJB decompression engine at 320. Once the datastream has been decompressed at 320, the method ends at 324.

However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodimentdescribed with respect to the method flowchart in FIG. 3. One ofordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the method 300 ofsharing a single-type decompression engine could be realizeddifferently. For example, in the embodiment described in FIG. 3, it isassumed during the file compression type check 308 that the file iseither compressed with the LZJB algorithm or with the GZIP algorithm.However, one skilled in the art will appreciate that other embodimentsmay make other assumptions. For example, the file compression type checkin other embodiments may assume more than two compression algorithms andthe flowchart for those embodiments will appropriately select necessaryactions to convert the identified compression type into the compressiontype that the single-type decompression engine is able to decompress.

In one or more embodiments, the system for sharing a hardwaredecompression engine includes hardware (e.g., circuitry), software,firmware, or any combination thereof, that includes functionality toperform at least some functions described herein in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the present disclosure. In one or moreembodiments, the system for sharing a hardware decompression engine ofthe present disclosure is, at least in part, a software application, ora portion thereof, written in any programming language that includesinstructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium which,when executed by one or more processors in a computing device, enablethe computing device to perform the functions described in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

Further, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may beimplemented for the decompression of files into the file system (100) inFIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 7,496,586, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

In addition, one or more embodiments may be implemented for thedecompression of streams. In one or more embodiments, the streams may bea flow of data encoded by logical zeros or ones. In other embodiments,the streams may be encoded in a different manner. In one or moreembodiments, the streams may be representing data from a file, streamingaudio, streaming video, or web data. However, in yet furtherembodiments, the streams may represent other data without departing fromthe scope of the disclosure.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented onvirtually any type of computing system, regardless of the platform beingused. In one or more embodiments, the computing system may be anembedded microcontroller with one or more microprocessors. For example,as shown in FIG. 4, the computing system (400) may include one or moreprocessor(s) (404), associated memory (408) (e.g., random access memory(RAM), cache memory, flash memory, etc.), one or more storage device(s)(412) (e.g., a hard disk, an optical drive such as a compact disc (CD)drive or digital versatile disc (DVD) drive, a flash memory stick, asolid state drive (SSD), etc.), and numerous other elements andfunctionalities. The processor(s) (404) may be an integrated circuit forprocessing instructions. For example, the processor(s) may be one ormore cores, or micro-cores of a processor. The computing system (400)may also include one or more input device(s) (420), such as atouchscreen, keyboard, mouse, microphone, touchpad, electronic pen, orany other type of input device.

Further, the computing system (400) may include one or more outputdevice(s) (416), such as a screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD),a plasma display, touchscreen, projector, or other display device), aprinter, external storage, or any other output device. One or more ofthe output device(s) may be the same or different from the inputdevice(s). The computing system (400) may be connected to a network(424) (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) suchas the Internet, mobile network, or any other type of network) via anetwork interface connection (not shown). The input and output device(s)may be locally or remotely (e.g., via the network (424)) connected tothe processor(s) (404), memory (408), and storage device(s) (412). Manydifferent types of embedded and non-embedded computing systems exist,and the aforementioned input and output device(s) may take other forms.In one or more embodiments, the computing system may be a headlesssystem, e.g. no input devices 420 and/or no output devices 416 may beutilized.

Software instructions in the form of computer readable program code toperform embodiments may be stored, in whole or in part, temporarily orpermanently, on the non-transitory computer readable medium. Suchnon-transitory computer readable medium maybe an erasable programmableread only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, an internal or externalstorage device, a DVD, a CD, or any other computer or embeddedmicrocontroller readable storage medium. Specifically, the softwareinstructions may correspond to computer readable program code orembedded microcontroller readable program code that when executed by aprocessor(s), is configured to perform embodiments of the disclosure. Inaddition, the software instructions and the associated non-transitorycomputer readable medium may also be referred to as firmware. In one ormore embodiments, the firmware may be updated.

While the disclosure has been described with respect to a limited numberof embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of thisdisclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised whichdo not depart from the scope of the disclosure as disclosed herein.Accordingly, the scope of the disclosure should be limited only by theattached claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for sharing a hardware decompressionengine, the method comprising: performing a compression type check on afirst data stream to determine a compression type of the first datastream, wherein the first data stream is compressed using one selectedfrom a group consisting of a first compression type and a secondcompression type; wherein, when the first data stream is compressed withthe second compression type: receiving the second compression type at aselector; converting the first data stream compressed with the secondcompression type into a second data stream of the first compressiontype; inputting the converted second data stream into the selector; anddecompressing the converted second data stream using the hardwaredecompression engine capable of decompressing a data stream compressedusing the first compression type.
 2. The method for sharing a hardwaredecompression engine according to claim 1, wherein the conversion of thefirst data stream compressed with the second compression type furthercomprises: inputting the first data stream of the second compressiontype into a decoder; decoding the first data stream of the secondcompression type; generating at least a control information, a firstinformation, and a second information from the decoded first data streamof the second compression type; inputting the control information, thefirst information, and the second information into a format circuit ofthe second compression type; formatting the control information, thefirst information, and the second information into the second datastream of the first compression type.
 3. The method for sharing ahardware decompression engine according to claim 1, wherein, when thefirst data stream is compressed with the first compression type:receiving the first compression type at the selector; inputting thefirst data stream of the first compression type into the selector; anddecompressing the first data stream of the first compression type withthe hardware decompression engine capable of decompressing a data streamcompressed using the first compression type.
 4. The method of sharing ahardware decompression engine according to claim 1, wherein the firstcompression type comprises a Lempel Ziv Jeff Bonwick (LZJB) compressionalgorithm.
 5. The method of sharing a hardware decompression engineaccording to claim 1, wherein the second compression type comprises aGNU (Gnu Not Unix) ZIP (GZIP) compression algorithm.
 6. The method ofsharing a hardware decompression engine according to claim 2, whereinthe control information comprises a Lempel Ziv Jeff Bonwick (LZJB)control byte.
 7. The method of sharing a hardware decompression engineaccording to claim 2, wherein the first information comprises a literalbyte and the second information comprises a length-distance entity.
 8. Asystem for sharing a hardware decompression engine, the systemcomprising: a selector configured to receive as an input, a selection ofa first or a second compression type of a first data stream; a decoder,wherein, when the second compression type of the first data stream isreceived as the input to the selector, the decoder is configured toreceive and decode a first data stream compressed with the secondcompression type and to generate an indicator, a first information, anda second information; a control byte generator, configured to receivethe indicator and to generate a control information; a format circuitconfigured to format the control information, the first information, andthe second information into a second data stream of the firstcompression type; and a decompression circuit of the first compressiontype, wherein, when the second compression type of the first data streamis received as the input to the selector, the decompression circuit isconfigured to decompress the second data stream of the first compressiontype converted from the second compression type of the first datastream.
 9. The system for sharing a hardware decompression engineaccording to claim 8, wherein the system is implemented on a single die.10. The system for sharing a hardware decompression engine according toclaim 8, wherein the decoder comprises a Huffman decoder.
 11. The systemfor sharing a hardware decompression engine according to claim 8,wherein the decompression circuit comprises hardware decompressionaccording to a Lempel Ziv Jeff Bonwick (LZJB) decompression algorithm.12. A computing system for decompressing a first data stream, thecomputing system comprising: a processor; a hardware decompressionengine configured to decompress a data stream compressed using a firstcompression type, wherein the hardware decompression engine resides onthe same die as the processor; a memory; a storage device; and softwareinstructions stored in the memory for enabling the computer system undercontrol of the processor, to: perform a compression type check on afirst data stream to determine a compression type of the first datastream, wherein the first data stream is compressed using one selectedfrom a group consisting of a first compression type and a secondcompression type; wherein, when the first data stream is compressed withthe second compression type: convert the first data stream compressedwith the second compression type into a second data stream using thefirst compression type; and decompress the converted second data streamusing the hardware decompression engine capable of decompressing a datastream compressed using the first compression type.